Hi there lovely fledglings!
Just popping in to thread for brief weekly whinge visit while in town. Haven't caught up properly but having skim-read posts;
Purple I was thinking of you starting work this week - glad it is going well - and hope you become less fatigued as you adjust 
and hope you can rest up this w/e
Zoo I am very sorry to hear about your cat and so sorry that it has brought up all the issues surrounding your recent bereavements 
Hope you are OK.
and a very warm welcome to Dani and congrats on your pregnancy!
Glorious weather here too Foxes and ¨Cag!
and big waves to Toostressy Whoknows Afreshstart Castle Cotswold Mermaids Honu Knitting Blue Bluepheasant and all other fledglings!
Have been back since school chucking out time on Tues but have had absolutely hideous week (dh travelling and v pressured and we've hardly shared two words through lack of time/dd being v v difficult/have had loads of ordinary 'work' work/and I've been ill with gynae related issues) and haven't really had time to post.
I've been struggling in some of the meetings with contractors (in Fr) on my own - seem to have lost my confidence - and culture rather mysogynistic here. On the good side hwr, I now know more about reproduction roof tiles and modern insulation feltings than I ever wanted to 
Worst though (sorry for whinge) is situation with dd who is making life very hard for herself at school. First, despite endless nagging from me, she refuses to go to sleep at a decent hour and is exhausted and bad tempered and is procrastinating with school work and driving me everyone nuts because she gets anxious about it but keeps doing work at last minute.
For example she "discovered" late last night (despite endless reminders from me, and endless opportunities to study in the last fortnight that she chose not to avail herself of) that she had a test today that counts towards her end of term report. Cue total meltdown last night and this morning. Of course it was a disaster today and she has probably failed; somehow though it is all my fault that I hadn't reminded her enough having done so endlessly and been met with rude retorts in reply.
Now I know why they tell you to treasure the early golden years, because (a) they are so fleeting and (b) you need the fuzzy warm memories to get you through the spiky teenage period ... . [Sigh]
Sorry - I know I sound unsympathetic - dd is doing great really in a v. challenging schooling situation - but it grinds you down sometimes. Shouldn't really whinge because the overall trajectory IS getting better ie she used to be a bit of a soap dodger and is now obsessed with showering and she often offers to cook and is very responsible in the house and she is very caring of furry one etc etc. So we are getting there ... slowly 
The main thing that frustrates me is that with a few, very simple, changes she could make life so much easier and less stressful for HERSELF (but doesn't). It so hard to stand back and watch them make mistakes but there you have it ... I guess she has inherited her procrastinatory tendencies from her mother 
. And my guilt about this just adds to the pile of angst!
As for Flying .... what's that?
Back on top of washing thanks to lovely weather and public rooms ok but food planning has gone awol. No time and (sorry if this is self indulgent as totally self induced) but finding it challenging to balance new tiny budget too.
Happy St Patrick's Day for tomorrow to anyone who is celebrating and watching the Gold Cup! [Can't find shamrock emoticon, sorry!]
Big wing flaps to all!